Bats used by softball and baseball players often require some form of break-in or conditioning period before they can reach their potential as advertised by the bat manufacturer. Ideally, this must be done without damaging the bat, such as by causing micro-tears, dents, or fractures in the bat.
Aluminum and composite bats make up the majority of bats sold and they are hollow. Because they are hollow the barrel compresses somewhat like a spring during impact with the ball. This improves the collision efficiency and allows the bat barrel to temporarily store and return energy to the ball that would have been lost to heat as the ball compresses and relaxes during its collision with the bat. This is widely referred to as the trampoline effect. The more elastic the bat the greater the trampoline effect in the barrel. Conversely, if the bat barrel is stiffer, the trampoline effect in the barrel is less effective.
Experimental evidence has shown that the performance of composite and aluminum bats appears to improve with use, suggesting that the spring-action of the barrel improves as the bat is broken in. Bat manufacturers recommend breaking in their bats by hitting softballs or baseballs in a way that causes them to strike the bat in a particular pattern, so the bat will be broken in evenly. Breaking in a bat by hitting softballs or baseballs takes a considerable amount of time because the balls must be pitched by a person on a playing field. Balls being pitched by a machine in a batting cage typically are not game balls, but rather are made of closed pore foam that does not affect the bat in the same way and can be compressed with medium effort. Consequently, using a bat with such batting practice balls will take months to break in the bat, if at all.
Time and fatigue limitations make it extremely difficult to break in a bat quickly and properly. It is also impossible to accurately follow the suggested break-in pattern in the manner recommended by the bat manufacturers because of the uncertainty about where the softball or baseball will strike the bat. As a result the bat becomes unevenly flexible in some areas and stiff in others, impairing bat performance.
Therefore, there is a need for a device that allows quick and accurate conditioning of a softball bat while replicating the effect of a ball striking the bat.